Talk:Spygate (conspiracy theory)/FAQ

Many of these questions arise frequently on the talk page concerning Spygate.

To view an explanation to the answer, click the [show] link to the right of the question.

Q1: What is the specific topic area for this article?

A1: The term "Spygate" originates in tweets made by Trump in May-June 2018, which were specifically referring to the actions of Stefan Halper, who contacted three Trump campaign members. Later uses to refer to other things are off-topic. There are articles here about those other things. This is not Wikipedia's judgment, it is the consensus view of reliable independent sources, so we reflect those.

Q2: Does the use of the words "spy" and "spying" by Trump and his allies always refer to Spygate? (No.)

A2: No. Not all alleged "spying" on the campaign refers to Spygate, and "spygate" does not refer to all instances of alleged spying on the Trump campaign. It only refers to Halper's actions. There are attempts by certain individuals to muddy the waters by throwing the terms around, but they are found on unreliable sources, and we do not use such sources here.

There are several circumstances and articles (bolded) here to which accusations of "spying" on the Trump campaign may refer:

• The FBI counterintelligence investigation into the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and any possible connections to Trump campaign members. The investigation, codenamed "Operation Crossfire Hurricane", was opened on July 31, 2016. In May 2017, this operation was taken over by Robert Mueller's Special Counsel investigation.
• Precursors to that investigation, beginning in late 2015. These could include:

• Multiple reports to the FBI and CIA by at least five allied foreign intelligence agencies describing their discoveries of suspicious and secretive contacts between Russian assets and Trump campaign members. Campaign members later lied repeatedly about these contacts.
• Information gathered by Christopher Steele as part of opposition research on the Trump campaign. This was compiled into the 17 memos comprising the Trump–Russia dossier. Steele's investigation spanned the time period June to December 2016.

• Allegations by Trump on March 4, 2017, that former President Barack Obama had wiretapped his phones at his Trump Tower office late in the 2016 presidential campaign.
• Spygate, a conspiracy theory first proposed by Donald Trump in May 2018 to describe contacts by Stefan Halper with three members of Trump's campaign, which is the subject of this article.
• Surveillance of Carter Page after he left the campaign, starting in October 2016. This was based on three court-ordered FISA warrants. He had also been the subject of a FISA warrant in 2014, before joining the campaign. Page has been a focus of the 2017 Special Counsel investigation into links between Trump associates and Russian officials and Russian interference on behalf of Trump during the 2016 presidential election.

Q3: If I find instances of the use of the terms "spy" and "spying" used to refer to those other subjects and articles, should they be added here or there?

A3: There, not here. Stay on-topic. If it doesn't involve Halper's actions, it likely doesn't belong here.

Q4: Is the article with its negative material biased? (No.)

A4: No. The article with its negative material is not biased. While the article must include both positive and negative views according to the policies of Wikipedia, the balance must accurately reflect the balance in those sources according to their reliability. According to neutral point of view, we must reflect the subject as it is seen by reliable independent sources, but we must do so accurately and in a neutral way.

Q5: Is the negative material in the article NPOV? (Yes.)

A5: Yes. Including negative material is part of achieving a neutral article. A neutral point of view does not necessarily equate to a sympathetic point of view. Neutrality is achieved by including all points of view found in RS – both positive and negative – in rough proportion to their prominence.